Centres de tables

Flower arrangements comprised bright clusters of tulips.

At a screening of the James Brown biopic Get on Up in Washington in July, André Wells incorporated such objects as old-school-style microphones and records into floral centerpieces to channel the movie’s musical premise.

Floral and event design company Amaryllis hosted an industry New Year's Eve party in Washington where a golden bust surrounded by an orb was part of an effort to weave in some statement-making European flair.

At the Miami Heat Charitable Fund annual gala in January, A Joy Wallace Catering, Design & Special Events created a tropical-looking table with centerpieces comprising Mokara orchids, calla lilies, and roses with accents of blue thistle—all built around a 3-D acrylic cube that encased replicas of the three Miami Heat championship rings.

For the 2010 St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School's sports-theme benefit in Washington, held in the school's gymnasium, centerpieces were oversize versions of athletic objects by commercial sculptor A.J. Strasser.

The Bafta Los Angeles Tea Party, held on Golden Globes weekend in Los Angeles, used various decor pieces and objects to advance its British theme—including a Union Jack-splashed tea kettle holding white roses.

During Golden Globes weekend this year in Los Angeles, W hosted an event at A.O.C. in celebration of its picks for so-called "Hollywood It girls." Covered glass dishes on the tabletops provided feminine flair alongside pink blooms.

At the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund gala in Bradenton, Florida, in 2007, coffee beans filled cigar boxes on high-top tables to match the event's tropical theme and mood.

In what could be described as a meta interpretation of a traditional floral centerpiece, David Stark used twine to create flower-shaped centerpieces at the Museum of Arts and Design's Visionary Awards gala in New York in 2007.

At the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS' Dining by Design benefit in New York in 2012, David Stark's installation for Benjamin Moore used real books and hand-made pop-up books to highlight the concept behind the brand's slogan: “A whole new chapter in paint color technology is being written.”

In September, the renovated Riverside ballroom at Austin, Texas's Radisson Hotel & Suites Downtown opened with a food-centric event that saw produce contained in veggie cartons as decor.

The dining room seated 4,000 guests. Sixteen screens lining the perimeter of the room gave all guests a close-up view of the stage, videos, and other elements of the program.